detritus

[dih-trahy-tuh s] /dɪˈtraɪ təs/
noun
1.
rock in small particles or other material worn or broken away from a mass, as by the action of water or glacial ice.
2.
any disintegrated material; debris.
Origin
1785-95; < French détritus < Latin: a rubbing away, equivalent to dētrī-, variant stem of dēterere to wear down, rub off (de- de- + terere to rub) + -tus suffix of v. action
Related forms
detrital, adjective
Examples from the web for detritus
  • Normally I'm too distracted by detritus here.
  • The detritus of the rock grinding is seen at the edges of the glaciers as dark bands.
  • The back end of the instrument has a plastic tube that leads to a large flask that collects the detritus.
  • Images were crisp, with no noticeable digital detritus.
  • The good seeds will settle to the bottom, and you can pour off all the mold and detritus.
  • So, it pays to reboot a computer at least once every couple of days, if only to flush the detritus from its innards.
  • By winter only the detritus remained.
  • Plus, the zoo spends $10000 annually disposing of the detritus.
  • So I'm standing in the aisle thinking about this pillow, which in my hands feels like the detritus of a bygone era.
  • Piles of bricks and bikes and a small cement mixer and other useful detritus are scattered about the patio.
British Dictionary definitions for detritus

detritus

/dɪˈtraɪtəs/
noun
1.
a loose mass of stones, silt, etc, worn away from rocks
2.
an accumulation of disintegrated material or debris
3.
the organic debris formed from the decay of organisms
Derived Forms
detrital, adjective
Word Origin
C18: from French détritus, from Latin dētrītus a rubbing away; see detriment
Word Origin and History for detritus
n.

1795, "process of erosion," from Latin detritus "a wearing away," from detri-, stem of detere "wear away" (see detriment). Geological sense of "matter produced by erosion" is 1802, probably from French detritus; incorrect, in any case.

detritus in Medicine

detritus de·tri·tus (dĭ-trī'təs)
n. pl. detritus
Loose matter resulting from the wearing away or disintegration of a tissue or substance.

detritus in Science
detritus
  (dĭ-trī'təs)   

  1. Loose fragments, such as sand or gravel, that have been worn away from rock.

  2. Matter produced by the decay or disintegration of an organic substance.